Materials covered by the DRLPS collection include the DeTour Reef Cruise (2003-2005), the “Under the Stars” annual benefit dinner (2004-2005), the group’s work with Asbestos Management, 1999-2000, to clear the site before restoration, the official transfer of the site’s lease from the U.S Coast Guard to the DRLPS, along with the group’s financial reports and meeting minutes.
The main focus of the collection is its material documenting the site’s restoration process from the group’s inception until 2004. Vital to the project was the securing of grant money, the collection including grant material from the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance for Preservation (MLAP), Michigan Coastal Management Program (MCMP), Clean Michigan Initiative (CMI), and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as well as specific grants to restore the site’s fog horn, windows, and to rent a deck crane for heavy lifting.
Box 1 of the collections includes organizational materials such as bylaws and articles of incorporation.
Other materials found in the boxes include photographs, pamphlets, fliers, magazines, and banded manuals.
Also included in the collection is a set of 140 oversized drawings dating, 1975-1982, detailing the light’s features. These drawings are located in oversized folders #1 and #2. Oversized folder #3 includes oversized materials, such as plans and charts, which were pulled from the binders.
Drawings 89-98 in Oversized Folder #1 included in set as packet of legal-sized documents.
All pre-1998 materials are photocopies from various sources made in 1998.
Processing Notes: .5 cubic feet of peripheral material and approximately 45 duplicate drawings were returned to the donor per his request. Items that were fragile or acidic were copied and their originals withdrawn from the collection.
Organizational History:
Constructed in 1847, the DeTour Reef Lighthouse is located at the DeTour Passage at the western most tip of the Upper Peninsula. Originally constructed onshore, the lighthouse was moved offshore to DeTour Reef in 1931. Ever since, the lighthouse has served as a “Gateway to the Superior” for the many vessels moving from the waters of the Huron to the waters of the Superior. Following the lead of the St. Helena Light Station and many other lighthouses across the state, the lighthouse was automated in 1974. By 1997, the neglected lighthouse was declared as “excess property” by the U.S Coast Guard, leading to the placement of the lighthouse on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places the following year.
In the January of 1998, civic leaders from DeTour Village and Drummond Island recognized the danger their beloved lighthouse was in and came together to form the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society (DRLPS), a non-profit volunteer organization devoted to the preservation of the historic site. Starting from its organization in 1998, the group began securing grants to begin the restoration of the site to its historic condition. Also in 1998, some of the members of DRLPS researched the lighthouse at the United States National Archives. In 2003 restoration finally began. By late 2004, the lighthouse was restored to its original 1931 condition when it first moved offshore. Along with the restoration of the site, the group has worked to raise awareness of the importance of historic sites, such as the DeTour Reef Light, as well as provided public programs focused on bringing families to the area, including a “Cruise of the St. Mary’s River” and an “Evening Under the Stars” annual benefit dinner.
Further information on the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society and its programs may be found at their website, DRLPS.com.
